Giving with One Hand, Taking with the Other

Giving with One Hand, Taking with the Other

Job security is the most important part of any collective bargaining agreement. And your negotiating committee is fighting to make sure it’s something you never have to worry about. But when we finally see a tentative agreement, we all know the first thing many of us will do is flip back to the wage schedule or look for a bonus. We’ll want to know if it will be any easier to make our rent or mortgage payment, to pay our kids’ tuition, or to put food on the table.

But wage increases mean nothing if that money goes to increased costs elsewhere. And what good are bonuses if our jobs are outsourced? Rest assured that your negotiating committee is cognizant of these facts, and fighting, not only to put Association members at the top of the industry in wages and job security, but to keep us there.

American Airlines, however, is looking to give with one hand and take with the other. The company, despite record profits and growth, wants to increase the cost of our health care, let us remain behind industry standards in profit sharing and retirement, and, in a particularly insulting proposal, outsource much of our work. Unacceptable.

The company claims their wage proposal is industry leading, but is it really industry leading if we have to pay more for health care? Is it industry leading if United wage rates eclipse ours after less than a year, as the company has proposed? Is it industry leading if our counterparts at other major airlines make thousands of dollars more in profit sharing every year? Of course not.

TWU-IAM Association members deserve truly industry-leading compensation, including industry-best wage rates throughout the life of the agreement. But our job security is not for sale, not at any price.